The stupid f*cks at Youtube wouldn't let me post my whole comment, so here is for you at Copenhagenize exclusively:

This is great!

It's just another example of how happy and caring we are here in Denmark! The only reason why we danes again and again are awarded the worlds most happy people is that we haven't discovered intelligent life in space yet - otherwise we would definately be the most happy population of the universe!

And it is so true! Foreigners often finds it difficult to believe, but danish people are literally walking around in the streets smiling and huggin strangers and sharing beers and stuff! Even our policemen are loveable hugbears as this video clearly states: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vWF4x01MkzE&feature=player_embedded

Great work guys on documenting the amazing capital of pure happiness! I just adore Copenhagen and its inhabitants - even Pia Kærsgaard is said to have tried to smile once (I think it was right after the implementation of the so called "tuneserlov" aka lex Pia).

This is a great video :) I especially like the part when the helmet-ball goes right in the bay. Maybe next they'll be selling helmets as flotation devices in Copenhagen and Amsterdam in case you fall in the water while cycling :)

You know, it just occurred to me today (I'm slow, I know), that I think a lot of the blindness about this issue, and about why you wouldn't want to heavily promote helmet usage, is a matter of individualism. In the average person, that is (of course, policy makers also have other motivations).

It's no secret that the US is well-known for promoting individualism at all costs, and I think in talking with people here about the helmet issue, it seems to me that their view is simply limited to "if a helmet could potentially save *me* from _any_ kind of injury (no matter how small), why wouldn't I wear one, and why shouldn't *everyone* wear one?

There isn't even a thought of the overall benefit to cyclists or to a city or country in general of encouraging more cyclists, and therefore benefiting everyone. That doesn't even enter the discussion a lot of the time, and when mentioned, it's often completely uncomprehended. The immediate benefit to oneself is the only consideration. We just have an "each man for himself" attitude, and therefore it doesn't seem strange to most people to do something like heavily promote helmet usage, because there isn't much thought about general welfare, or that the welfare of the whole improves the welfare of the individual. This is a common thread in all transportation issues in the US, as the automobile-centric transportation system is clearly favoring the welfare of particular individuals without any thought for the welfare of the whole.

Anyway, it just occurred to me that maybe a lot of the complacency or even great acceptance of helmet advocacy and and legislation by the general population in the US stems from this overarching "every man for himself" attitude, which tends to be much less prevalent in Europe.

Well you are a cheeky gentleman, aren't you! Was the main star your colleague from the kids' science shows you do?

I was going to say something about the flotation device properties of the helmet but was beaten to it. Actually, I saw an article yesterday about an automatically inflating personal wearable airbag device developed in Japan to save elderly people in falls...

For "portlandize" - I remember posting about this before in one of the longer helmet debates here, but I'll say it again: I have always been struck by what seems to be a culturally ingrained and pervasive fear of danger in the US in particular among industrialised western democracies. I think this plays a large role, that is easily pandered to and manipulated, in convincing people to accept "solutions", whatever they may be. Like I said before, one example is that in most of the industrialised world, we are coming to the realisation that oil dependence is a problem. In the US alone, it seems, it is dependence on foreign oil that is the problem. This cliché is repeated endlessly by politicians of all stripes under the assumption that it is the best way of convincing people to see this dependence as a danger. I think it's this same element of US culture that has been drawn upon, almost unconsciously, by whoever and for whatever reasons, to make cycling seem especially dangerous compared to other daily activities. (One example is the "ghost biker rides" bemoaned in a posting here a year or so ago.) Once the idea sticks, well, you gotta protect yourself, no? And only idiots wouldn't do such a common sense thing.

@Kiwehtin: I also agree with everything you said, and of course I think policy makers often use that sense of fear to promote helmets, and therefore alleviate themselves of the responsibility to actually do anything about road safety.

I think the reasons I mentioned have more to do with why people don't even logically understand the argument that helmets=fear=less riders=less safety - because they would never consider safety of the whole in relation to individual safety. All that matters is that if I crash, my head will have a helmet on it. It doesn't matter that if I let go of that hold on individual safety a bit (which is where the fear comes in), things could be safer for everyone, more so than if I choose to rail about how you need helmets to be safe and then nobody wants to risk it except the brave few.

Kilometres cycled by Copenhageners so far today

Copenhagenize.com is the blog of Copenhagenize Design Company. Online since 2007 and highlighting the cycling life in Copenhagen and around the world.

40 years ago Copenhagen was just as car-clogged as anywhere else but now 41% of the population arriving at work or education do so on bicycles, from all over the Metro area. 55% of Copenhageners themselves use bicycles each day. They all use over 1000 km of bicycle lanes in Greater Copenhagen for their journeys. Copenhagenizing is possible anywhere.